Binary executable file?

Is there a way to program a propeller's EEPROM with a simple "Select file and click" program instead of the Propeller tool? I just distributed a product today and realized at the last minute that there is something in it that should be corrected, but the person operating the device is not a programmer and will not want to download the Propeller Tool software. Is there a simple program that will let you select a file (In windows explorer) and download it to the Propellers EEPROM?

Microcontrolled said...
Is there a way to program a propeller's EEPROM with a simple "Select file and click" program instead of the Propeller tool? I just distributed a product today and realized at the last minute that there is something in it that should be corrected, but the person operating the device is not a programmer and will not want to download the Propeller Tool software. Is there a simple program that will let you select a file (In windows explorer) and download it to the Propellers EEPROM?

Thanks, but this person that will need to download this will not know how to operate a command line driven program nor will he want to learn just to download this update. Is there something more along the lines of a GUI Windows app available?

If you write it as a .bat file, they should be able to double click on it and it will process.

They will need to load the FTDI drivers though.

Jim

Microcontrolled said...
Thanks, but this person that will need to download this will not know how to operate a command line driven program nor will he want to learn just to download this update. Is there something more along the lines of a GUI Windows app available?

I have a custom GUI based on RealBasic, you can send them the app with a folder that contains bstl, your update, the required PC or OSX files. They can update RAM or EEPROM. Select the file, then run it. PM if you want to check it out. It does have my logo on the icon and app, but you could mod the realbasic version to replace it with your own logo if desired. It has some nice features, like checking your website for newer app version. You would need to send them the FTDI driver for their platform.

I think there are several solutions to "Is there a way to program a propeller's EEPROM with a simple "Select file and click" program instead of the Propeller tool?"

If your board has an SD card, you could look at KyeDOS. Boots up with a simple menu on a vga display that displays all the .BIN files on an sd card. Then you run the one you want with
SPIN MYFILE.BIN

and it runs that binary.

You can distribute new programs by asking the user to download a new .BIN and put it on an sd card. (only minor issue - you need to change MYFILE.BINARY to MYFILE.BIN)

Or post them a new sd card. (to paraphrase an old saying, never underestimate the bandwidth of a van full of micro sd cards hurtling down the highway). If you posted an sd card, this is a solution that never needs a PC. Just pop in the new card and run the new program. So it becomes very simple for an end user who never needs to worry about downloading the propeller tool or recompiling a program. You can add autorun as well if you like, so if the user doesn't type anything on a keyboard for a while, it just runs a default program.

I'm using this as a way of organising all the retro emulations.

You don't need external memory to run KyeDOS. Just a standard propeller chip with eeprom, keyboard, display and 4 lines for an sd card.

However, it does NOT have an SD card, otherwise I would have a soulution already.
I made a batch file and sent it, with instructions to put the folder under the C: directory in no other folders. I could have made an installer for it, though. Thanks for the help!

Thanks,
FTDI drivers would be good also. Micro stated that the customer already had them installed. I'm not sure how many people would need the .dll in this instance, but it's small enought to include it.
Jim

Microcontrolled said...
However, it does NOT have an SD card, otherwise I would have a soulution already.
I made a batch file and sent it, with instructions to put the folder under the C: directory in no other folders. I could have made an installer for it, though. Thanks for the help!

Your post alarmed me a bit, because I'm using propellent.exe as a loader for the S2. So I did a search for all copies of propellent.dll on my computer and either renamed or deleted all of them. I can happily report that propellent.exe still works without them.